Japanese ace Kei Nishikori has sailed into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open with a straight-sets win over Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev on Thursday.
Fourth-seeded Nishikori, who defeated Spain's Roberto Bautistaagut in the second round in his first match since March, capitalized on a number of errors by Golubev to beat the Kazakh player 6-0, 6-4 victory in 76 minutes.
According to the Japan Times, Nishikori, who will play the winner of a later match between Spain's Tommy Robredo and Croat Marin Cilic, backed his serve for saving him 'crucial moments' in the game, which helped him regain his rhythm.
Nishikori suffered a groin injury during the Sony Open in March that forced him to miss Japan's Davis Cup World Group quarterfinal fixture earlier this month, the report added.